Guest Blog: Michael Jackson and the Jews

This article first appeared on RJ.Org - News and Views on Reform Jews.

Michael Jackson was a musician of immense talent and arguably the greatest pop singer of our era. He reinvented pop music and produced the world's best-selling albums. He was also a man of stupendous wealth who, by his own admission, used his celebrity to entice children to visit his estate and share a bed with him. While he was never convicted of a crime, his trial for child abuse and its aftermath revealed a pattern of utterly reprehensible conduct toward his own children and the children of others entrusted to his care.

In our celebrity-obsessed age, it is perhaps not surprising that we were never willing to judge Michael Jackson by the standards that we use to judge everyone else. Jackson's fans defended him ferociously, seeing him as a symbol of innocence and insisting that he was more victim than victimizer. Is it really necessary, however, now that he is dead, for those who speak in the name of the Jewish community to be joining in the adulation and offering excuses for his actions?

Jackson's relations with the Jewish community were, to say the least, complicated. Some have charged that he was an anti-Semite, but this is unclear. He was, however, a clever marketer and an opportunist who used anti-Jewish comments to his own advantage. His 1995 release "They Don't Care About Us" included the line: "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me." The words caused a storm of protest, as everyone knew that they would. Jackson first responded with a rambling explanation arguing that the lyrics did not mean what they plainly said. Eventually he offered an apology, to the applause of a grateful Jewish establishment. Over the course of the controversy, the incident generated immense publicity and additional sales. This pattern was to repeat itself a number of times.

Following Jackson's death, the Jewish press and the Jewish blogosphere were filled with proud stories of Jewish writers and public figures who had met Jackson, been to synagogue with him, discussed Jewish music with him, and introduced their children to him. It was even claimed that his second wife and two of his children were Jewish. One blogger, known for his insightful and sober commentary, compared Jackson to the Biblical figure of Joseph.

The most widely-distributed article on Micheal Jackson by far from a Jewish source was the one written by Shmuley Boteach, an Orthodox rabbi and friend of Jackson, for the Jerusalem Post. Boteach's comments were also featured on a number of TV entertainment shows. The Post article was painful to read, and for a rabbi, inexcusable. Boteach congratulates himself for accompanying Jackson to Shabbat dinners and for introducing him to Elie Wiesel. Boteach's Jackson, far more sinned against than sinning, had no responsibility for his actions. Everything that he did is attributable to the failures of those in his inner circle. Jackson's attacks on Jews are not mentioned. Jackson's treatment of his own children - when they appeared in public he shrouded them in masks or veils, and he dangled one child over a balcony - is not mentioned. Most important, his treatment of other people's children - those who were lured to his home and made to sleep in his bed - is not mentioned; and needless to say, treating other's children in this way is utterly forbidden by any reading of Jewish law and tradition.

To Boteach, Jackson is a flawed but sympathetic individual, a tragic figure characterized by "nobility of spirit." No, he is not. There is not a Jewish school in North America that would teach the lessons of Jackson's life to Jewish children in the way that Rabbi Boteach sees them. True, Jackson was a great musician and the pain of his death is felt by millions; but at a time like this, it would have been far better for Rabbi Boteach and others in our community to just remain silent.

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Among the hallmarks of his 13-year tenure are endeavors to enrich Torah study and adult literacy, religious education, worship, and camping within the Movement. His is a strong voice for social justice, interfaith dialogue, Israel advocacy and the rights of Israeli Reform Jews. A magna cum laude graduate of Brandeis, Rabbi Yoffie was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.  Before joining the Union, he served congregations in Lynbrook, NY, and Durham, NC.